Pygmy Caragana vs Ben Sarek Black Currant - TreeTime.ca

Pygmy Caragana vs Ben Sarek Black Currant

Caragana pygmaea

Ribes nigrum Ben Sarek

CUSTOM GROW

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

Pygmy Caragana
Ben Sarek Black Currant

Pygmy Caragana is a shrub that is related to Common Caragana and has a compact size that is suitable for yards with limited space. Its size is perfect for landscaping and decorative hedges, and requires little maintenance. This nitrogen fixer has fine-textured foliage and small yellow flowers. Much like Common Caragana, it is hardy and drought tolerant.

Popular as a low maintenance commercial landscaping shrub and for hedging. This species does have tiny spines that might poke you a bit. It has a nice appealing texture when mature.

Ben Sarek Black Currant is a compact, high-yielding Black Currant cultivar, making it ideal for smaller gardens and easy berry picking. The large clusters of flavourful, sweet-tart berries ripen in mid-summer and are perfect for fresh eating, preserves, baked goods, and liqueurs. Plants may start producing some berries after two years, reaching full production in about four to five.

Developed by the Scottish Crop Research Institute, Ben Sarek Black Currant is resistant to powdery mildew and moderately resistant to white pine blister rust. It is self-fertile, meaning it does not require cross-pollination from another variety to produce fruit.

Pygmy Caragana Quick Facts

Ben Sarek Black Currant Quick Facts

Zone: 2b
Zone: 3a
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Height: 1.1 m (4 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 1.1 m (4 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Growth form: compact, dense, rounded
Spreading: layering - low
Suckering: none
Maintenance: medium


Foliage: aromatic when crushed
Flowers: prolific tiny yellow pea-like flowers
Flowers: greenish-yellow
Bloom time: early to mid spring
Berries: black currants, edible
Flavor: sweet-tart
Harvest: mid-summer
Seeds: prolific seedpods are edible
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Other Names: pygmy peashrub
Other Names: ben sarek blackcurrant